Events

WTM: 7 hours in the Caribbean

(28 October 2004)


Picture: Image Bank

YOU’VE battled public transport, deciphered your map and finally made it to the Caribbean section of World Travel Market. So sip a mudslide cocktail, have a slice of banana bread, chill to the sounds of a steel band, and soak up the vibe like the sea is lapping your toes on a golden beach – and try not to think of your journey home.

Anguilla
11am: start the day in idyllic Anguilla, which is rebranding under The Anguilla Experience – Feeling is Believing. Learn about the new Charming Escapes of Anguilla programme featuring small, family-run guesthouses.

Also drawing your attention to the stand are details of the new Temenos St Regis Retreat and Golf Course, a $250 million hotel and villa complex with an 18-hole golf course, opening in December 2005, and the island’s choice of luxury villas. A gem in this sector is the avant-garde African Sapphire villa – complete with 10 staff – which opened recently at the Altamer Resort.

US Virgin Islands
11:30am: in the UK, the US Virgin Islands are not as familiar as other Caribbean islands, so here’s your chance to find out more about them on the destination’s stand. Apart from a new marketing campaign planned for the UK, commissioner of tourism Pamela Richards will be outlining the country as three unique experiences – St Thomas, St Croix and St John – within one exotic destination.

St Lucia
12pm: time for some sustenance and a little sport. So head for St Lucia which is welcoming visitors with drinks and St Lucian banana bread.

The island and its neighbours are all talking cricket – the World Cup series takes place in the Caribbean in 2007 – and this is your chance to be ahead of the game. St Lucia is running a cricket-themed interactive competition at its stand for agents with a prize of a trip for two to watch the England team play in St Lucia. Flights, accommodation and tickets to the match are included.

Bahamas
1pm: visit the Bahamas to learn more about the 700 islands that make up the archipelago. Copies of a new guide to the destination’s Out Islands will be on the stand, while the director of the Bahamas Out Islands Promotion Board, Kerry Fountain, will answer questions. Make sure you also enquire about the website and new agent training programme. But it’s not all work – sample a rum punch to keep you going.

St Vincent and the Grenadines
2pm: if you’ve never been to the picturesque islands of St Vincent and the Grenadines, this could be your chance. The tourist board is holding a prize draw for agents to win places on a fam trip next year. Simply drop off your business card at its stand and keep your fingers crossed when the draw takes place on the last day of WTM.

If you’re there on Wednesday afternoon join the party when the National Steel Band Champions will be performing on the stand. There’s nothing like drumming up a bit of Caribbean carnival atmosphere.

Cayman Islands
3pm: head to the Cayman Islands stand for a demonstration of its new on-line agent training programme in conjunction with the Travel Weekly Academy, which will go live on November 18. Agents can sign up to become specialists and follow the 10-module course, which involves multiple-choice tests and incentives along the way.

Pick up a new DVD about the Caymans and, if it’s not too early, indulge in a secret-recipe Caribbean mudslide cocktail, guaranteed to add a little kick to your day.

St Kitts
4pm: try a taste of St Kitts from 4pm on Monday and Wednesday when the cocktails will be flowing – and pick up a recipe for the island’s new national dish, created to mark 21 years of independence this year.

That’s not all. Test your musical skills when you join in the steel band lessons, and don’t forget to drop off your business card for your chance to win a watercolour painting launching the island’s new branding, St Kitts – the next Caribbean adventure. Then grab a new guide to the island, produced by Travel Weekly, and leave time for a chat about new developments over a rum punch or two.

Party time
5pm: on Wednesday it’s time to celebrate at the Caribbean Sunset Hour cocktail party with the entire Caribbean Village. After all, you deserve a few drinks after signing up for the Caribbean Training Programme, which costs £19.99. If you’ve signed up you’ve already been convinced about the comprehensive training scheme, with opportunities to join fam trips, and been promised a copy of the new Caribbean Tourism Organisation Travelfax, packed with essential information and designed with agents in mind.

Now grab a rum punch or two and soak up the warm West Indies welcome.